Living Story Season 2 - What would you like to see?

1. NEW Enemies. Surely, we got several new factions in Season 1 (Molten and Toxic alliance, Aetherblades) but these somehow felt more recycled than new. The only real new enemy in Season 1 were the watchwork machines.

2. STRONG Villain. If the Season 2 is going to require a mastermind, make it a strong character, both in personality and tools at their disposal. To me, Scarlet seems like the typical cartoon villain, as in "You win for now, but I'll be back!". With LA destruction she's returned for like, what? 5th time already? Getting extremely tedious. I don't know how this season is gonna end or whether GW2 is supposed to have the "good always wins" attitude but I'd really like to see a villain who can cause chaos and destroy stuff for more than two weeks at a time.

3. Underwater Content. It feels like there isn't much use for underwater combat, yet it has so much potential. Make it happen, ANet! Oh, and make it a clear water setting, so that we can enjoy the scenery, rather than the black & green combo going on in Orr.

4. Make it a good story. This is the part I dislike the most about Living World. It feels so bland. Despite the terrible boss fight at the end of Personal Story, the whole thing was great story-wise. From the very beginning when you were forming your characters identity to the main story. Finding out about Zhaitan, finding out how the undead are spreading all over the world, memorable NPCs, exploring tombs, the overall atmosphere. Compared to Personal Story, the Living story doesn't even feel like it was done by the same people...

1. Quicker Gameplay: I want to feel like I'm on my feet and my decisions matter. Enemies need to have greater force and less HP so it's not so much these wars of attrition.

2. Smarter AI: I want to see what they started finished with the Toxic Alliance where the Krait would react and attempt to revive the Sylvari. I expect this basic tactic to become more and more popular and appropriately more and more valuable. Less of the enemies shouting "I need help" by themselves.

3. Stronger Events: I like the direction the game is heading in; with the LA event it is now so much smarter to break into divisions and patrols rather than to group up and lump up. The game has been moving intelligently ( I presume by design ) away from zerging. Events now need to genuinely call upon these tactical behaviors with a more planned feel to them to emphasize their success.

4. Villians. I would prefer there isn't a single mastermind since whether it was Zhaitan or Scarlet stories with single-badguys tend to be more or less either campy or lackluster. The best stories, dungeons, etc. in games are always those where there's more than one boss that is genuinely congruent to the objectives of the biggest bad.

5. More Permanently Marring Content: The LS at current just has the wreckage of plans gone sour thus far. I would like to see lifeforms birthed from this behavior instead; permanent mutations and bosses that came from the poison in the water would have been very interesting and creatures like the toxic wurms getting out in the real world and simply joining the ecosystem ( ruining it to some extent ) would be very real and rewarding. The LS is still "distanced" with caution in my opinion from the world with fear of offense but it needs to be embraced and actually play out as a story without fear.

6. Congruent LS Events: Coinciding with the multiple bads concept allow for two or more less impactful but more realistic expressions of concepts. All of the Scarlet content has been excessively large, which is fun, but the idea of having two plot points at once leading up to one major point is a bit more realistic in my opinion. Rather than just a single-minded "We found you!" agenda-based game causing player-choice to take place and allowing players that choice is a good idea that simplifies the game and it's design since it is always easier to make newer smaller dungeons than it is to make singular large ones due to ease of continuity, layout, and lack of pressure to fill with extreme examples ( like MegaBoss X ). It's also easier to control zerging and other aspects in multi-layer / path content which is easier to design on a smaller scale.

7. More LS Incorporated Rewards without High-Demand Gameplay: Let the achievements be for the achievement hunters. It's just like the current cycle's backpiece; you do need shards which do come from the event but they are easily acquired and everything else can be bought outside of it. It also is a storage sink which is rather nice since many materials simply have no use after you craft whatever you wanted with them which ties the game back into the real-world sewing it in and adding necessary mechanical immersion.

I'm going to agree with the villain arguments. I don't entirely agree with Scarlet being a typical cartoon villain. They usually act with intent, not just spreading random chaos and not caring when defeated. Certainly they are trying to show as if there was a plan all along, but introducing that so late in the story doesn't fully recover it from previous installments.

We need villains that we have a love/hate relationship with. Like a Vader.

The idea of multiple villains for season 2 is interesting. Perhaps have two villains with different plans that and up butting heads and fighting each other as well.

More story content with each installment as well. They have been doing a bit better this year, but most releases have one or two brief story instances with a bunch of farming for the remainder of the two weeks. I learned more about the NPCs in that single LA instance during Marry/Wurm than I had the entire previous year. And it was enough to make me actually like the new cast of characters.

Definitely the villain and story part (AI also could use a rework). For the villains i really see potential for Gnashblade, you know, we know him already, he fell really hard (from high ranking person in the black lion company to just a normal member) and he holds grudges... perfect for a villain

I hope LS get`s swept under the rug, and we finally start getting some expansion to Tyria (new zones maps, lore) !
LS was awful and it doesnt deserve second chance !!!

While I'm not quite to this point (yet) I kind of have to at least partially agree. I started out supporting the Living Story, only upset about the laggy events that we had in the beginning. But these days it just seems that Arena Net is struggling just to fail at their own designs. I'm not saying the Living Story is bad, heck it is conceptually awesome, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired and it is looking more and more like, at least form an outsider's point of view, that the logistics of creating Living World content are just too much and it ultimately isn't worth the effort. I'd much rather have an expansion, even if it is a paid expansion.

Definitely the villain and story part (AI also could use a rework). For the villains i really see potential for Gnashblade, you know, we know him already, he fell really hard (from high ranking person in the black lion company to just a normal member) and he holds grudges... perfect for a villain

I like Gnashblade, and voted for him several times. And more importantly, so did Isaiah, so it's unlikely he will wind up being a villain. I do want to know what he has in mind for this deal with Heal-o-tron, though.

Bring back the Mursaat! Back before release when they were releasing the initial lore on the movement of the world they still made it seem like the Mantle was a big presence, competing with the Shining Blade for support around the world through spies and such. Yet so far we've only seen the Mantle in a single storyline that statistically only a third of human characters even witnessed. If they're still around, then let's do something with them. The Mursaat and the Mantle were too great an antagonizing force to get so little screen-time now.

I like Gnashblade, and voted for him several times. And more importantly, so did Isaiah, so it's unlikely he will wind up being a villain. I do want to know what he has in mind for this deal with Heal-o-tron, though.

Bring back the Mursaat! Back before release when they were releasing the initial lore on the movement of the world they still made it seem like the Mantle was a big presence, competing with the Shining Blade for support around the world through spies and such. Yet so far we've only seen the Mantle in a single storyline that statistically only a third of human characters even witnessed. If they're still around, then let's do something with them. The Mursaat and the Mantle were too great an antagonizing force to get so little screen-time now.

Want to point out something neat that I'm not sure anyone else noticed: After the fall of the tower in Kessex Hills, there were Bandit Poisoners running around collecting the leftovers. They might've been there before, but I'm pretty sure that particular mob only ever appeared during a Shaemoor DE so they stuck out. Furthermore, we know that at least some of the bandits aren't... entirely what they appear, at least the Kessex ones for sure.

While I'm not quite to this point (yet) I kind of have to at least partially agree. I started out supporting the Living Story, only upset about the laggy events that we had in the beginning. But these days it just seems that Arena Net is struggling just to fail at their own designs. I'm not saying the Living Story is bad, heck it is conceptually awesome, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired and it is looking more and more like, at least form an outsider's point of view, that the logistics of creating Living World content are just too much and it ultimately isn't worth the effort. I'd much rather have an expansion, even if it is a paid expansion.

I too am at a point where we need an expansion. Sure some of the LS was nice but a lot wasnt.

Maybe have more time between updates on the LS, say 3 or 4 weeks. More time to make it better and something that you need more then 1 night to complete.

I am unsure how they will play out Lions Arch but the lack of changes to the world is disheartening. Sure they stuck destroyed probes in zones and have the broken marionette in Lorners but overall not much has changed (again I am sure LA will have changes when this event is done but how much we will have to see).

I honestly think what people who are clamoring for an expansion want is just a new linear story outside of the personal story we currently have and the side content we're getting with LS. That's all LS boils down to, really. It is stuff that is happening next to the 'main' story you're supposed to be going through with your race, your order and the Pact. That's why it isn't very gripping most of the time, it's not your story just as the dungeons aren't your story either. The dungeons are all about Destiny's Edge with you as an observer. The LS is all about Destiny's Edge 2.0 (or the B Iconics to quote the devs) with you as an observer. I at least kind of like them better than the first bunch but you're still just their tag-along buddy. The only time the game is about you is when you're in your personal story and halfway through, you're rudely ripped from the spotlight for some jerk necromancer shrub.

They can add new zones and new factions without an expansion, they've done it several times this year already. But what they haven't done is given people who were dissatisfied with the supposedly main story of their character another option. Something that doesn't have to culminate into being second banana. If they make a new personal story that ends up somewhere else other than Orr and doesn't give you a Gary Stu that drags you around by the nose, that's just as good as a new expansion, imo.

Also what nonsense is the people who want to pay for such a thing. It should be as free as the free content they're giving us now and I'm sure they will get a lot of old and new players back for doing it free. Go look at Star Trek Online and their free Romulan faction expansion last year. They're doing well last I heard.

I too am at a point where we need an expansion. Sure some of the LS was nice but a lot wasnt.

Maybe have more time between updates on the LS, say 3 or 4 weeks. More time to make it better and something that you need more then 1 night to complete.

I am unsure how they will play out Lions Arch but the lack of changes to the world is disheartening. Sure they stuck destroyed probes in zones and have the broken marionette in Lorners but overall not much has changed (again I am sure LA will have changes when this event is done but how much we will have to see).

Arkham Creed, on 23 February 2014 - 09:51 PM, said:

While I'm not quite to this point (yet) I kind of have to at least partially agree. I started out supporting the Living Story, only upset about the laggy events that we had in the beginning. But these days it just seems that Arena Net is struggling just to fail at their own designs. I'm not saying the Living Story is bad, heck it is conceptually awesome, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired and it is looking more and more like, at least form an outsider's point of view, that the logistics of creating Living World content are just too much and it ultimately isn't worth the effort. I'd much rather have an expansion, even if it is a paid expansion.

I am with my husband and the mod on this one. Even though having a LS is quite nice gives you extra to do besides from the core game. But at this point I rather have an expansion. I'm tired of waiting 2 weeks for another piece of the puzzle to be completed. And the rush to get the puzzle completed or it fizzles out due to most members of the zerg have already finished it more are just their mainly for the loot. I would rather LS just merely be a "welcomed" guest. As in guest, they are their for a moment and then they leave.
And quite honestly, not to sound to narcissistic but I rather the story be more personal. It's about me and what I chose to do or don't do.

And if I want to take a break from the main story with the the side story then it is welcomed. And I want to see how Cantha again!!!

THIS, big time. I need a 'new and improved' combat system to look forward to. Game plays nearly the same it did a year and a half ago.

Yeah.....If you're looking for balance updates and maybe some new skills I am pretty sure that we'll start seeing that at the end of March. But if you want some drastic mechanical overhaul then you simply will be disappointing. This just doesn't happen in MMOs, and the one time it did (Star Wars Galaxies) it basically signaled doom for the game. If you really don't like the GW2 combat system then I honestly suggest you move on because the core system isn't going anywhere. They don't even make major changes in betas, so we're about two years too late for anything more than a few tweaks.

Yeah.....If you're looking for balance updates and maybe some new skills I am pretty sure that we'll start seeing that at the end of March. But if you want some drastic mechanical overhaul then you simply will be disappointing. This just doesn't happen in MMOs, and the one time it did (Star Wars Galaxies) it basically signaled doom for the game.

I don't want anything that big, I'd prefer something more in line with how WoW changes it's major mechanics with each expansion, or how LoL has progressed since it's beta.

I am with my husband and the mod on this one. Even though having a LS is quite nice gives you extra to do besides from the core game. But at this point I rather have an expansion. I'm tired of waiting 2 weeks for another piece of the puzzle to be completed. And the rush to get the puzzle completed or it fizzles out due to most members of the zerg have already finished it more are just their mainly for the loot. I would rather LS just merely be a "welcomed" guest. As in guest, they are their for a moment and then they leave.
And quite honestly, not to sound to narcissistic but I rather the story be more personal. It's about me and what I chose to do or don't do.

And if I want to take a break from the main story with the the side story then it is welcomed. And I want to see how Cantha again!!!

Again, I don't think it has to be called an expansion or actually be another box that you have to purchase on top of the base box. In fact, that would be silly as it would merely be semantics in the first case or a justifiable ripoff for existing users in the second. All they need to do is put a break on the side content stuff for a while (or work on it secretly while continuing their LS release rate, they have a fairly decent sized studio), put together a new personal story mission track along with a few new zones and voila, expansion release. It could be in a totally new place like the GW1 expansions or it could even just start in the GW2 Tyria we already know with more background path options in the beginning and move out into somewhere different in the end. I feel I am on the right track when I say that folks want a different personal story to attach their characters to and that is the major impetus for desiring an expansion over say LS content that goes to Cantha or Elona or whatever without your character being the focus of the story.

I'd like to see the death of living story. I'd like to see a new area open with new DEs and the personal story being reworked to be more of a personal story. All the living story has taught me is I like static content over poorly executed "dynamic world" filler content.

Again, I don't think it has to be called an expansion or actually be another box that you have to purchase on top of the base box. In fact, that would be silly as it would merely be semantics in the first case or a justifiable ripoff for existing users in the second. All they need to do is put a break on the side content stuff for a while (or work on it secretly while continuing their LS release rate, they have a fairly decent sized studio), put together a new personal story mission track along with a few new zones and voila, expansion release. It could be in a totally new place like the GW1 expansions or it could even just start in the GW2 Tyria we already know with more background path options in the beginning and move out into somewhere different in the end. I feel I am on the right track when I say that folks want a different personal story to attach their characters to and that is the major impetus for desiring an expansion over say LS content that goes to Cantha or Elona or whatever without your character being the focus of the story.

I will tll you why you are wrong. Expansion allows people to play in their own pace. No hurry, no missing the story if you cannot play for a short time. Expansion is more freedom where the LS concept as it is now almost pressure or else you miss it.

I will tll you why you are wrong. Expansion allows people to play in their own pace. No hurry, no missing the story if you cannot play for a short time. Expansion is more freedom where the LS concept as it is now almost pressure or else you miss it.

The personal story doesn't allow you to play at your own pace? I am saying that a new personal story is really what everyone clamoring for an expansion wants. They can build a lot around making a whole different story path for your character, enough that I would probably call it expansion quality content even if they released it for free and started doing LS again immediately after that update.

I hope LS get`s swept under the rug, and we finally start getting some expansion to Tyria (new zones maps, lore) !
LS was awful and it doesnt deserve second chance !!!

That is assuming the Living Story is actually stealing manpower from any expansion content.
What is most likely is that the Living Story is paying for itself with cash shop revenue that is generated due to the presence of Living Story.

Also have you seen people like Eric Flannum working in the Living Story?
If you see the Living Story is being done mostly by Aranet B-team and you stopped seeing the people that you were seeing giving interviews and whatnot before release (other than Colin).